Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

1. Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)

a. Childhood

i. Born into extreme wealth in New York City

ii. Started out weak & in poor health

1. Had severe asthma (not expected to live past age 5)

2. Would partially lose sight in boxing mishap

3. Father stressed physical fitness (built him a gym)

iii. Lifelong advocate of sports and mental activity

iv. Educated by tutors

v. Graduated from Harvard, which he entered at age 17

Young Teddy

Theodore Roosevelt

a. Personal Life

i. Father died while TR was at college (heartbroken)

ii. In 1884 his wife and his mother died on the same day

1. Baby daughter = Alice

iii. 1884-1886 (The Grieving Period)

1. Went to live in Dakota Badlands

2. Became a respected rancher & conservationist

iv. 1886- married childhood sweetheart (Edith) & had 5 more kids.

Edith Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

c. Early Career i. Elected to the New York State Legislature at age 24

ii. Became a police commissioner in NYC

iii. Became Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1897

1. Quit in 1898 to fight in the Spanish-American War in Cuba

2. Famous for leading his “Rough Riders” up San Juan Hill

3. Due to this war, the US acquired Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico

iv. Became (R) Governor of New York in 1899

1. Attacked corruption and made many enemies

2. Made a name as a progressive reformer

Theodore Roosevelt

d. Road to Presidency

i. 1900 – Chosen as McKinley’s V-P running mate

1. New York’s Conservative (R’s) supported his nomination

2. Felt safe w/TR in this “do-nothing” job. (Harmless)

i. 1901- McKinley was shot and killed; TR becomes president at age 42

McKinley & Roosevelt

McKinley Assassination

McKinley was shot twice

by Leon Czolgosz

Leon Czolgosz was an

anarchist

McKinley died 8 days

later

Teddy Roosevelt became

the next president

Theodore Roosevelt

e. Presidential Style

i. Playful, fun, dramatic, loved the press and the public

ii. Expanded presidential power and controlled Congress

iii. “Big Government” is needed to regulate “Big Business”

Theodore Roosevelt

f. The Square Deal: Program for helping the common man

i. Some said he was a “traitor to his own class”

ii. Settled Coal Strike of 1902

1. TR forced owners to negotiate with the union

2. TR threatened to use the army to run the mines

3. Workers made gains with government on their side (rare)

Theodore Roosevelt

iii. Worked to break up monopolies & end special privilege

1. Nickname: “trust-buster”

2. Used Sherman Anti-Trust Act to break up the

Northern Securities railroad monopoly (JP Morgan)

3. Started suits against Standard Oil and U.S. Steel

4. Signed Elkins Act ending railroad rebate practice

“Trust Buster”

Theodore Roosevelt

iv. Social Legislation

1. Pushed passage of health laws (influenced by Upton Sinclair)

2. Ex: Meat Inspection Act & Pure Food & Drug Act

3. Conservation – set aside 240 million acres as protected public lands

Theodore Roosevelt

7. Foreign Affairs

i. 1906- Won Nobel Peace Prize for mediating Russo- Japanese Peace

ii. Big Stick Diplomacy- “Speak softly and carry a big stick”

1. Keep peace through power & preparedness

2. Sent “Great White Fleet” on world tour as show of US strength

a. TR was a “Warrior without a war”

1. Created Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

2. Freed Panama from Colombia to secure land needed to build

the Panama Canal (TR’s “Big Ditch” opened in 1914)

Big Stick Diplomacy

Panama Canal

Panama Canal

Theodore Roosevelt

g. Life after Presidency

i. 1909- TR is replaced by close friend William H. Taft and travels the world

ii. TR was only 50 and not ready to quit politics

iii. 1912- Tried to run as Progressive “Bull Moose” candidate but fails

iv. 1914-1917- TR encourages US entry into WWI even offering to fight

v. 1919- TF died while preparing to run in 1920 election

William H. Taft

William H. Taft

2. William H. Taft (1857-1930)

a. Childhood & Early Life

i. Born into wealthy Ohio family

ii. Admired his father ---> lawyer, judge, Attorney General, Sec. of War

iii. Educated in law at Yale University

iv. Dream ---> to become Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court

William H. Taft

b. The Man

i. Physically large

ii. Honest, loyal, no vices

iii. Poor speaker, lacked tact, and procrastinated

William H. Taft

c. Road to Presidency

i. 1908- Hand picked by TR as successor

1. Doubted his own qualifications (driven by wife’s ambitions)

2. Supported at first; TR believed Taft would continue his reforms

ii. Taft would prove himself more conservative than TR or Wilson

William H. Taft

d. Successes as President (R) 1909-1913

i. Added more land to public parks & forests (not as much as TR)

ii. Broke up more than 90 monopolies, including Standard Oil in 1911

iii. Set up the Dept. of Labor & Bureau of Mines to protect workers

iv. Supported the passage of the 16th and 17th Amendments

v. Established the 8 hour day for government workers

William H. Taft

e. Caused Split Between Progressives & Conservative Republicans

i. Signed Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act ---> raised tariffs

1. Pleased big business

2. Angered progressives and especially farmers

i. Appointed a Secretary of the Interior who:

1. Favored industrial development of wilderness area

2. Was slow to preserve public lands

i. TR became his #1 critic

Taft Was More

Conservative

William H. Taft

g. Election of 1912 (3-Way Race)

i. Progressive (R’S) supported TR & Conservative (R’s) supported Taft

1. Taft wins the (R) nomination

2. TR forms Progressive Bull Moose party (split weakens R party)

ii. (D) Woodrow Wilson is elected and TR is labeled “the spoiler”

h. 1921- named Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by President Harding

i. Served until 1930

ii. Considered it the “greatest honor” of his life

Election of 1912

Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

3. Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924)

a. Childhood

i. Born in Virginia to a middle –class family

ii. Father was a minister who provided his son with a strict upbringing

iii. Family moved often (South)

Woodrow Wilson

b. Early Career

i. Graduated from Princeton University in 1879

ii. Practiced law in Atlanta for one year

iii. Became professor of law & economics at Princeton

iv. 1902- Named president of Princeton University

v. 1910- Elected governor of New Jersey

Woodrow Wilson

a. Presidency

i. Won 3-Way election of 1912

1. Carried 40 of 48 states, but just 40% of the vote (minority president)

2. Republicans would blame TR for Wilson’s victory

Election of 1912

Woodrow Wilson

ii. Successes came under his program called New Freedom

1. Underwood Simmons Act (1913) lowered import tariffs

2. Created the Federal Reserve System to stabilize banking

3. Keating-Owen Act curbed the use of child labor

4. Federal Farm Loan Act gave farmers low interest loans

5. Worked for passage of Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914) which strengthened government’s ability to break up monopolies

iii. All 4 Progressive Era Amendments (16th, 17th, 18th, 19th) went into

effect while he was president

Woodrow Wilson

iv. War broke out in Europe in 1914 (later called WWI)

1. Wilson called for US neutrality (He was a pacifist)

2. 1917- Entered war with reluctance, saying we must go to war to :

“make the world safe for democracy”

3. Focus would now be on foreign affairs

Woodrow Wilson

d. To Be Continued…

i. We will talk more about Wilson in the next two units:

1. World War I

2. The 1920s